Executive Highlight
Terry Verduin
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President, Little Ray Children s Books Inc
- Industry: Entertainment / Performing Arts
Business Founded: 2021
Phone: (561) 718-3015
Email: [email protected]
Address:
425 TOWN PLAZA AVE
PONTE VEDRA, FL 32081
How long have you been in your industry?3.25 years (business) 15 years personally
Why did you choose your industry?Terry Verduin (pen name V. R. Duin) was a mental health attorney. Fun and inspirational characters improve childhood mental health. Children follow our characters to teamwork, adaptability, and problem-solving for a just world. Our characters make children celebrate and strive to learn more.
Who are your typical clients?Children ages 6-8 (grades 1-3), and special learners of any age, including learners of English as a second language. Rhyming verse aids in spelling, pronunciation, and memorization, and makes the adventures fun to read aloud. V. R. Duin’s adventures are about more than just reading.
What do you like best about being in this industry?The creative use of books is universal, requiring no special hardware or software. Our adventures hold attention. Contrast this with social media and computer-generated texts, or drills, which are voluminous, repetitive, and read superficially.
What are common problems you see?Literacy is falling. Diverse cognitive functions, cultures, and interests create high-stress environments. Challenging student behaviors often lead to staff burnout. Limited budgets and strict laws clash with students’ desire for independence despite a corresponding inability to act responsibly.
What advice/tips do you have for clients?Little Ray Children’s Books, Inc. offers a low-cost, innovative, compassionate, ethical, and dignified psychosocial approach to supporting student/staff relations and averting crises. Reading our V. R. Duin books distracts attention, improves attitudes, and starts dialogue and reasoning. Favorable interactions avoid the need for strong-armed security approaches.
When is your busy season?The fall to spring holiday season. We also have a Goopy Ghost holiday series.
What keeps you up at night?The establishment puts up barriers to newcomers, due to the surge of Amazon writers.
How do you market yourself to grow/expand your business?We work to get our books reviewed by school districts and other organizations with a literacy, holiday, and/or animal appreciation mission. Fundraising enables us to send these behavior-changing books to those organizations that approve our books.
How involved are you in the community?I am active at the Link. This co-working space brings people together and helps form business connections.
What is your favorite not for profit or charity?Central Florida Foundation taught us about governance documents and provided our first grant, making it my favorite not-for-profit charitable foundation.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of getting into this business?Writing is the easier part. Gaining credibility, authenticity, and trust through marketing is difficult and takes dedication. Carefully research Amazon KDP. It did not meet my expectations. Books were pirated and dumped all over the internet. It's hard to break free of that organization.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?I enjoy walking, biking and working out at the gym. I also enjoy reading in English, Spanish and French.
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